DGAP-News: Deutsche Wohnen SE: Deutsche Wohnen shareholders vote for reduced dividend and make a clear commitment to solidarity in the corona crisis

Corporate News

 

Deutsche Wohnen shareholders vote for reduced dividend and make a clear commitment to solidarity in the corona crisis

- Annual General Meeting votes for reduced dividend of EUR 0.90 per share and supports creation of EUR 30 million Coronavirus relief fund

- Election to the Supervisory Board: Matthias Hünlein is re-elected; Kerstin Günther is appointed as new member

- Deutsche Wohnen becomes new member of DAX 30

 

Berlin, 5 June 2020. At today's Annual General Meeting of Deutsche Wohnen SE, the shareholders supported the proposal of the Management and Supervisory Boards to pay out a dividend of EUR 0.90 per share. This corresponds to a reduction of the originally planned payout ratio by 5 percentage points to 60%.

Deutsche Wohnen will be using the difference to finance a EUR 30 million Coronavirus relief fund, which was announced back in March. It is intended to use this fund to provide unbureaucratic help, particularly to commercial and residential tenants as well as business partners who have got into financial difficulties as a result of the corona crisis. As Michael Zahn, CEO of Deutsche Wohnen SE, explains, "In accepting our proposal, our investors are sending out a strong signal of solidarity in the corona crisis, the impact of which will continue to be felt by ourselves, our tenants and our partners for a long time to come."

The end of the Annual General Meeting marked the expiry of the terms of office of Matthias Hünlein and Dr Andreas Kretschmer as members of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Wohnen. Matthias Hünlein was re-elected by the shareholders, whilst Kerstin Günther will be replacing Dr Andreas Kretschmer as a new member of the Supervisory Board. She is the managing director of the Helmholtz Zentrum München, the German Research Center for Environmental Health (GmbH). Matthias Hünlein, Chair of the Supervisory Board: "We offer our warmest congratulations to Kerstin Günther on her election and look forward to working with her. On behalf of the management board and the staff of Deutsche Wohnen, I would like to thank Dr Andreas Kretschmer. He has made his expertise available to the company for more than a decade now and has contributed decisively to Deutsche Wohnen being in such a strong position today."

At the Annual General Meeting, which was conducted for the first time in a virtual format to protect the health of shareholders, staff and service providers, resolutions on all the agenda items were passed with a clear majority.

Yesterday, on 4 June 2020, the German Stock Exchange announced, on the recommendation of the Working Committee of Share Indices, that Deutsche Wohnen SE would be listed in the leading German share index DAX with effect from 22 June 2020. The elevation of this residential property company, which has been listed in the MDAX since 2010, means that for the first time again in many years a company with its sole headquarters in Berlin will be amongst the 30 most important publicly listed companies in Germany.

 

Deutsche Wohnen

Deutsche Wohnen is one of the leading publicly listed residential property companies in Europe. The business focus of the company is on managing its own portfolio of residential properties in dynamic metropolitan regions and conurbations in Germany. Deutsche Wohnen sees itself as having both a social responsibility and a duty to maintain and newly develop good-quality and affordable housing in vibrant residential neighbourhoods. As at 31 March 2020, the portfolio comprised a total of around 164,300 units, of which 161,500 are residential and 2,800 commercial. Deutsche Wohnen SE is listed in the Deutsche Börse's MDAX and is also included in the leading indices EPRA/NAREIT, STOXX Europe 600, GPR 250 and DAX 50 ESG.

Important note

This publication is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation to buy securities.

To the extent that this document contains forward-looking statements, these are not facts and are recognisable by such words as 'will', 'expect', 'believe', 'estimate', 'intend', 'endeavour', 'assume' and similar expressions. These statements express the intentions, opinions or current expectations and assumptions of Deutsche Wohnen and the individuals acting in concert with it. The forward-looking statements are based on current plans, estimates and forecasts that Deutsche Wohnen and the individuals acting in concert with it have made to the best of their knowledge, but do not make any claims as to their future accuracy. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that are generally difficult to predict and are usually not within the control of Deutsche Wohnen or the individuals acting in concert with it. It should be remembered that the actual results or consequences may differ considerably from those mentioned or contained in the forward-looking statements.

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